How to Reach, Engage and Convert Millennials

Consumers, and specifically millennials, are used to limitless access to information and data. Millennials like to control not only what they consume, but also how they consume it, whether via mobile, tablet, or desktop. So how can marketers get their message through?

"Customers are increasingly controlling the relationship with brands when it comes to information and information sources," Forrester Research Senior Analyst Ryan Skinner said in a recent webinar with Rapt Media. In fact, potential buyers check out an average of 10.4 sources in a typical purchase path, according to Google's recent Shopper Science study.

Pull, don't push"Essentially, pull channels are providing more and more information for them as opposed to push channels," Skinner said, noting that organizations are consistently budgeting more for online promotions than traditional advertising.

Be mobile and interactiveNot surprisingly, digital natives are increasingly watching and sharing video on mobile. They want to do more than simply watch, however. Demand for interactive video continues to grow. According to Forrester's research, interactive video ads outperform traditional video by up to 1,000 percent in clickthrough rates. Add mobile to this mix, and you have what Skinner calls the "appification" of video — i.e., custom online video experiences in the palm of your hand.

Learn from your actions and adjustMillennials don't want to interact with static brands, and with the amount of data marketers can gather from interactions with millennials, their brands shouldn't be static. Every time millennials interact with your brand, you should look for valuable insights into users' choices and preferences. It's about inhaling the data exhaust left behind brand interactions.